Life and work

Apianus was born as Peter Bienewitz (or Bennewitz) in Leisnig in Saxony; his father, Martin, was a shoemaker. The family was relatively well off, belonging to the middle-class citizenry of Leisnig. Apianus was educated at the Latin school in Rochlitz. From 1516 to 1519 he studied at the University of Leipzig; during this time, he Latinized his name to Apianus (lat. apis means "bee"; "Biene" is the German word for bee).

In 1519, Apianus moved to Vienna and continued his studies at the University of Vienna, which was considered one of the leading universities in geography and mathematics at the time and where Georg Tannstetter taught. When the plague broke out in Vienna in 1521, he completed his studies with a B.A. and moved to Regensburg and then to Landshut. At Landshut, he produced his Cosmographicus liber (1524), a highly respected work on astronomy and navigation which was to see at least 30 reprints in 14 languages and that remained popular until the end of the 16th century. Later editions were produced by Gemma Frisius.^[1]

In 1527, Peter Apian was called to the University of Ingolstadt as a mathematician and printer. His print shop started small. Among the first books he printed were the writings of Johann Eck, Martin Luther's antagonist. This print shop was active between 1543 and 1540 and became well known for its high-quality editions of geographic and cartographic works.{{cn|date=April 2018}} It is thought that he used stereotype printing techniques on woodblocks.^[4] The printer's logo included the motto Industria superat vires in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin around the figure of a boy.^[5]

Through his work, Apian became a favourite of emperor Charles V. Charles had praised his work (the Cosmographicus liber) at the Imperial Diet of 1530 and granted him a printing monopoly in 1532 and 1534. In 1535, the emperor made Apian an armiger, i.e. granted him the right to display a coat of arms. In 1540, Apian printed the Astronomicum Caesareum, dedicated to Charles V. Charles promised him a truly royal sum (3,000 golden guilders),{{ref|1|1}} appointed him his court mathematician, and made him a Reichsritter (a Free Imperial Knight) and in 1544 even an Imperial Count Palatine. All this furthered Apian's reputation as an eminent scientist. Astronomicum Caesareum is noted for its visual appeal. Printed and bound decoratively, with about a 100 known copies,^[6] it included several volvelles that allowed users to calculate dates, the positions of constellations and so on.^[7][8][9] Apian noted that it took a month to produce some of the plates. Thirty five octagonal paper cut instruments were included with woodcuts that are thought to have been made by Hans Brosamer (c 1495-1555) who may have trained under Lucas Cranach, Sr. in Wittemberg.^[10] It also incorporated star and constellation names from the work of the Arab astronomer Azophi (Abu al-Husain al-Sufi AD 903-986).^[11] Apian is also remembered for publishing the only known depiction of the Bedouin constellations in 1533. On this map Ursa Minor is an old woman and three maidens, Draco is four camels and Cepheus was illustrated as a shepherd with sheep and dog.^[12]

Despite many calls from other universities, including Leipzig, Padua, Tübingen, and Vienna, Apian remained in Ingolstadt until his death. Although he neglected his teaching duties, the university evidently was proud to host such an esteemed scientist. Apian's work included in mathematics—in 1527 he published a variation of Pascal's triangle, and in 1534 a table of sines— as well as astronomy. In 1531, he observed Halley's comet and noted that a comet's tail always point away from the sun.^[13] Girolamo Fracastoro also detected this in 1531, but Apian's publication was the first to also include graphics. He designed sundials, published manuals for astronomical instruments and crafted volvelles ("Apian wheels"), measuring instruments useful for calculating time and distance for astronomical and astrological applications.^[14][15]

Apianus married the daughter of a councilman of Landshut, Katharina Mosner, in 1526. They would have 14 children together, five girls and nine sons, one of whom was Philipp Apian (1531–1589), who, in addition to his own research, preserved the legacy of his father.^[16]

Selected works

• Cosmographicus liber (also called Cosmographia), Landshut 1524.
• Ein newe und wolgegründete underweisung aller Kauffmanns Rechnung in dreyen Büchern, mit schönen Regeln und fragstücken begriffen, Ingolstadt 1527. A handbook of commercial arithmetic; depicted in the painting The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger.
• Cosmographiae introductio, cum quibusdam Geometriae ac Astronomiae principiis ad eam rem necessariis, Ingolstadt 1529.
• Ein kurtzer bericht der Observation unnd urtels des jüngst erschinnen Cometen..., Ingolstadt 1532. On his comet observations.
• Quadrans Apiani astronomicus, Ingolstadt 1532. On quadrants.
• Horoscopion Apiani..., Ingolstadt 1533. On sundials.
• Instrument Buch..., Ingolstadt 1533. A scientific book on astronomical instruments in German.
• Instrumentum primi mobilis, Nuremberg 1534. On trigonometry, contains sine tables.
• Astronomicum Caesareum, Ingolstadt 1540.

Footnotes

References